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DVD All Superheroes Must Die
 Run time: 78 min Rating: 3.9 Genres: Sci-Fi | Thriller Director: Jason Trost Writers: Jason Trost Stars: Jason Trost, Lucas Till, James Remar |
| Storyline Four Super Heroes find themselves abducted by their Arch Nemesis and are forced to compete in a series of challenges in order to save an abandoned town full of kidnapped innocent civilians. |
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| Plot Keywords: game of death, kidnapping, arch villain, superhero | |
| Details: Country: USA Release Date: 7 October 2013 (UK) |
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| Box Office Budget: $20,000 (estimated) |
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4 comments
I love the dark feel of the film that was not like your typical "super hero" movie. It seems that some of the critics of this film didn't understand it. Anyone who was a fan of "watchmen" would enjoy and understand this picture.
These characters were not over the top and exaggerated, they were portrayed as real/average people that happen to have super hero problems. This isn't a story that is tied up in a nice little bow at the end, where most Hollywood movies do. This is an edgy story that mirrors the unfortunate reality of actual life. The acting was solid, the directing was clean, and the writing was creative.
Maybe I am guilty of understanding what it really takes to make a film happen, and understand the constraints of time, schedules, and how filmmakers have to often make hard decisions on the fly to make something as big as a film happen.
I still say good job, and I look forward to more.
Before judging this film too harshly, remember it was made on a tiny budget and in a handful of days. It's basically a glorified student film, and if I were marking it, I'd give it an A. It's an interesting concept and the acting, while mediocre, shows promise, especially that of Jason Trost and Sophie Merkley. There's an awesome scene where the bitchy journalist guy from "Never Been Kissed" is dressed up as Uncle Sam and is armed with a flamethrower. It's worth a watch if only for that scene. James Remar is pretty good I guess, although it's hard to tell when he's basically a cackling, moustache-twirling level of villain. But in any case, this movie is a solid effort from writer/director Jason Trost. I'm looking forward to seeing what he offers to the genre world in coming years.
With the success of super heroes in theaters it comes as no surprise that filmmakers are starting to churn out their own variations on the genre. The biggest issue is that without the recognition, most of these films just can't capture and audience. Filmmaker Jason Trost, who delivered the insanely fun The FP has thrown his own vision into the super hero genre with All Superheroes Must Die. With The FP showed he could think outside the box and deliver something different that still works, but can he score the same with his superhero vision?
All Super Heroes Must Die follows four super heroes who find themselves abducted by their Arch Nemesis and forced to compete in a series of challenges to save kidnapped innocent civilians. This movie not only works it takes the genre in a whole new direction. Imagine super heroes and throw them into the world of SAW and you have this film. The film is dark and gritty and plays up the torment as opposed to the super heroics giving it more of a punch than you would have thought. The costumes feel more like what real people would have put together if they became costumed heroes, all without coming across to silly. The inner dilemmas of the characters add to the already insane struggles they have to deal with causing their tasks to be that much harder to complete. The performances are pretty good for the most part, with only a few moments here and there that are a bit off. James Remar as the mastermind behind the torment eats of the screen playing this character way over the top, yet perfectly fits this world and his character.
This is one of the better attempts at this genre thinking outside the box to create a fun unique film. The mix of the genres really adds to the over concept to create a must see for anyone a fan of either genre. Horror fans, be on the lookout for Chromeskull himself Nick Principe in a villainous role as a part of a memorable fight scene. Trost is really doing a great job with these films and will no doubt be an up and coming force to be reckoned with and can't wait to see what he delivers next.
This movie is absolutely abysmal. OK, I get that it's made with a limited time, on a limited budget, but at a certain point, you need to consider if you can still make the movie you're trying to make. I understand that the costumier had to leave early, so maybe consider whether you can still make a movie with costumed superheroes who have their powers taken away. Because if you take their powers away, and *spoiler* don't have them get them back in the final minute (Hey, that would have made a more interesting ending, huh?) then what you have is just people in costumes. If those costumes look like someone put underwear on their head, maybe consider making a different film. Amateur costumes can look good, but if you're lacking money, you need to put in time and skill to make up for it. You need to cover over the bad parts and accentuate the good. If, for example, the scene has someone bleeding to death from a stab wound, and someone is asked to go get a bandage, and that actor decides to saunter off with less urgency than I would go to make a cup of tea, then maybe as a director, it's time to offer a bit of direction. Like for example, "You're supposed to be the guy who's superpower was, up until now, super speed. RUN!" If I had super speed and lost it, I'd find it agonising that it took so long to get anywhere. In a race against time I wouldn't take such an agonisingly long time to do every single thing. Like the first round, where you have a 95 second fuse. From the moment they're told it's lit, they literally stand there for 52 seconds! I thought you were in a hurry to make this film? Maybe make a dash for the fuse, and the time you just saved filming that could have been more usefully spent? Like for example the guy you're fighting, Sledgesaw, could had had, for example, a saw of some kind? So his name makes sense? Rather than being dressed as a circus strongman from the fifties? Also, I presume you didn't show anyone's superpower due to budget, but surely you could have shown superspeed? Perhaps mix the powers up and have Shadow's being superspeed? Have the injection wear off at the last minute, film her carrying Charge away, speed up the film, and you've got a much improved ending. But that's the real issue. If you have to cut stuff while you're filming, you've not looked at how what you have left hangs together. If you've worked out a budget to start, and cut the parts you can't do, you can make what you have work better. You could barely forgive that rickshaw doesn't have a costume. James Remar can more or less carry those bits. Even Shadow doesn't have a costume so much as a hairstyle. In short, the film lacks polish. It lacks money. But it doesn't make up for those things with time, skill or ingenuity. It didn't have time to do things better with what it had, and due to the last minute hacked up script, it then lost any benefit it might have had from plot, writing or directing. But… surely they knew what the budget was? They had $20,000, so why not cut those extra scenes from the start and get the film to work with the funding they had?